Abstract This study was conducted with 418 adults 20 years or older, all of whom lived in Daegu and Gyeongbuk. According to a survey, the number of females was greater than that of males (40.7%) by 59.3%, and that for ages 30 years was the highest. The preference for Korean traditional drinks was relatively high at 51.8%, and the frequency of drinking Korean traditional drinks was 39.0%. The adults answered that they had these beverages on special days such as holidays, ritual days, and birthdays. Among the reasons for drinking a traditional beverage ‘good taste’ scored the highest with 27.0% of respondents, followed by ‘Korean traditional food’ with 24.4%. The recognition of Korean traditional drinks was high in the order of Sikhe, Soojunggwa, Cha, and Hwachae. The preference for Sikhe was the highest. The group who agreed that it was important to develop a Korean functional traditional drink was 11.5% higher than that of the negative group, as 13.4% ‘agreed a lot’ and 41.1% ‘agreed’. Consumer awareness toward traditional drink functionality was generally positive, with 3.5 points or higher on average, and awareness of the nutritional supplementation, diabetes control, the recuperative effects of the drinks were also high. Among Korean traditional drinks Sikhe was the highest with regard to intention to purchase. As a result, the popularization of traditional Korean drinks was based on three factors: quality oriented image, popularity oriented image, and product attribute-oriented image. These factors significantly influenced the preference for and purchase of Korean functional traditional drinks.Key words : Korean traditional drinks, preference, functional drinks